Recently, an image of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier raising the rainbow flag went viral. He also shared a social media post celebrating Israel’s liberating views on LGBTQ+. This soldier’s post is part of a phenomenon called “pinkwashing,” which Israel has been using to soften the impression of Gaza military actions. The reality is that Homophobia is still an issue in the IDF. A 2017 survey by an Israeli LGBTQ+ youth group found that 95% of LGBTQ+ soldiers had encountered discrimination while serving. Today in Reddit, there are thousands of posts about how LGBTQ+ is affected in Gaza and in Israel. Many of these posts, however, talked about LGBTQ+ people having to stay in the closet in Gaza. TIME wrote about LGBTQ+ Gazans and how the specter of death from the Israel-Hamas war only compounds the struggle to live freely in Gaza, where homosexual relations between men are outlawed and open queerness violates social and religious mores. In 2016, Hamas allegedly murdered one of their own military leaders, commander Mahmoud Ishtiwi, for allegedly having sex with another man and documented it. Against such a backdrop, some people wonder why Americans, who champion LGBTQ+ rights, support Hamas. Some are blaming this change in perspective on the spread of false narratives. Within the queer community in the USA, too, there are differences over the ongoing war. At the heart of this battle in Gaza is faith. Muslims. Jews. However, an inclusive Queer Christian perspective towards this division of views should be the one that promotes peace and togetherness for everyone. Is that possible?
